CONSERVATION

Planning: Oklahoma’s

Planning: Oklahoma’s NPS Management Program The revision of the Oklahoma NPS Management Plan was accomplished with input from over 30 groups over the course of a year. One of the major changes reflected in the plan was a revised ranking system to determine priority watersheds where improvement is likely if implementation occurs there. The primary components of the Program are planning, implementation, education, and assessment. The long- and short-term goals of the NPS Management Program are summarized in the table below and described in detail in the Plan. These goals are guided by the mission statement of the NPS Management Program: “To conserve and improve water resources through assessment, planning, education, and implementation.” Long-Term Goals By 2020...establish a Watershed Based Plan (WBP), Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), implementation plan, or achieve full or partial delisting based on water quality success to restore or maintain beneficial uses in all watersheds identified as impacted by NPS pollution on the 2002 303(d) list, unless the original basis for listing is no longer valid. By 2040...attain and maintain beneficial uses in waterbodies listed on the 2002 303(d) list as threatened or impaired solely by NPS pollution. Short-Term Goals Monitor at least 250 streams, rivers, and other waterbodies every five years to determine causes and sources of NPS impairments. Prioritize watersheds using the process described in the NPS Management Plan, then draft and update WBPs or similar planning documents for top priority watersheds. Progress Toward Attaining Oklahoma currently has: 147 approved TMDLs for 2015, for an overall total of 812 TMDLs for waterbodies impaired by bacteria, turbidity, low dissolved oxygen, and nutrients, and work to address additional impairments is ongoing. Nine WBPs, and implementation of CPs to improve water quality is ongoing in five of these. 48 published success stories on the EPA’s §319 website, indicating delisting of impaired waterbodies due to CP implementation and education. Oklahoma ranks second in the nation for NPS delisting success stories, with a total of 48. Strong partnerships with other agencies, particularly the NRCS, are resulting in additional funding for implementation of practices focused on water quality improvement. Progress Toward Attaining The water quality of more than 14,665 stream miles has been assessed and presented in the State’s biennial Integrated Report. Summary reports are written for each basin at the end of each two-year monitoring cycle. Nine WBPs are currently approved. All watersheds in the state were assessed with the new prioritization scheme, and the OCC plans to update or draft 10 WBPs per year starting in 2016. Provide educational information through the statewide Oklahoma’s Blue Thumb Education Program currently has Blue Thumb Program. Blue Thumb staff will work with active volunteers in 36 of the 77 counties of the State, with 61 Conservation Districts as requested to develop and active monitoring sites. More than 45 Conservation Districts maintain education programs. have joined the nonprofit Oklahoma Blue Thumb Association. Reduce NPS loading in priority watersheds with accepted WBPs through implementation of conservation practices. Implement water quality restoration and protection efforts in additional priority watersheds annually, as identified by the Unified Watershed Assessment (UWA) in the updated NPS Management Plan. Oklahoma’s NPS program has been successful at partnering with various agencies to secure funding and match federal funds to increase the total amount of funding available to address NPS issues, including CW-SRF, NRCS, public companies, and private landowners. Work is scheduled for 2016 in several watersheds that ranked as high priority after the new UWA prioritization process. 4

Oklahoma’s NPS Management Program ImplementaƟon: Current OCC priority watershed implementation projects are located in two general parts of the state: the east and the west-central. The predominant agricultural practices vary between these two general areas, so the implementation focus is slightly different in each area. In the east, extensive poultry production and related land application of waste as fertilizer has contributed to the build-up of high levels of nutrients, particularly phosphorus, in the soils. Consequently, CPs focus on riparian buffers and animal waste management. In the west-central part of the state, wheat and cattle production dominate agricultural activity, often contributing to water- and wind-driven soil erosion in conventional tillage operations in the sandy soils. No-till and field conversion CPs are the focus of implementation efforts in this area. Establishing riparian buffers is an important component of all projects, as these vegetated regions act as filters to take up nutrients, and roots help stabilize streambanks to reduce erosion. Fencing livestock out of riparian areas also reduces the amount of fecal bacteria in the stream. Despite some differences in CP focus, all OCC priority watershed implementation projects share a common design which has resulted in success both in number of participants who are implementing CPs in each area and in actual, measurable water quality improvement: Planning: have data/information that indicates NPS problems that can be addressed with a project Local leadership and buy-in: get support of local Conservation District and hire local coordinator; establish a Watershed Advisory Group (WAG) that includes all interests to drive implementation planning Targeting: use an effective model (e.g., SWAT) to locate pollution hotspots to target for implementation Effective monitoring: use a proven study design (e.g., EPA’s Paired Watershed Method) and sampling method (e.g., continuous, flow-weighted sampling) to obtain sufficient data to evaluate impacts on water quality Demonstration/Education: establish a demo farm where landowners can see a suite of CPs in action Partnerships: look for creative ways to engage other agencies, leveraging hard dollars and matching funds Long-term commitment: commit to have multiple phases in the project (i.e., be in watershed for more than 5 years) to allow project concepts to take hold and prove their way from producer to producer ImplementaƟon Projects: During FY2015, over a million dollars in federal §319 funds, Oklahoma state funds, and private landowner funds were expended for implementation of CPs in nine priority watersheds (see map). Cost-share funds from participating landowners comprised a significant portion of these monies. A brief update of implementation in each of the OCC priority watershed projects is given in the following pages. Details of each project, including reports and Watershed Based Plans, can be accessed via the OCC Water Quality Division website under Priority Watershed Projects. 5